IBM typically re-balances its giant workforce every year, but the job cuts in 2013 and the reductions coming in 2014 are a bit bigger than in the past because the company has been struggling with weak revenue growth, the analyst explained.

It costs IBM about $70,000 to lay an employee off, so if the latest re-organization is mostly related to staff reductions, that suggests the company may be cutting 10,000 to 15,000 workers, Sacconaghi estimated. IBM has about 400,000 employees in total in more than 170 countries.

IBM stated that most of the job cuts would come from its hardware division.

This year, IBM is looking to expand its China customer base in China, though its revenue from the Asia-Pacific region has decreased by about 16%.

Martin Schroeter, the company’s chief financial officer who stepped into the role Jan. 1, said that the incurred costs of the layoffs on the company would be about the same as last year’s curts.